Analysing Scientific Strength and Varietal Generation, Adoption and Turnover in Peninsular India: The Case of Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Chickpea, Pigeonpea and GroundnutDKumara CharyuluauthorM C SBantilanauthorARaja LaxmiauthorDMoses ShyamauthorThe importance of crop genetic improvement research is demonstrated by the Green Revolution, which led to a rapid increase in food production in Asia. Those productivity gains contributed to a reduction in poverty directly through increased farm-household income and indirectly through a long-term decline in the prices of food grains, which account for a large share of poor consumers’ expenditure. The success of crop genetic improvement research that led to the development of improved varieties of food crops is well documented (Evenson and Gollin, 2003; Bantilan et al., 2013). Despite the rapid progress made in the past, poverty is still concentrated in South Asia with around 571 million or one-third of the world’s poor, estimated at about 1.29 billion in 2011 (World Bank, 2012). Substantial scope exists for further reducing poverty through crop genetic improvement by increasing or stabilizing the yield of major food crops, particularly the dryland crops in South Asia. Modern varietal change by itself may not lift large numbers of people out of poverty, but greater dynamism in this area can go a long way toward moving poor people closer to that threshold. Moreover, modern varietal change can set the stage for the adoption of improved crop management practices, thereby making it possible for farmers to reduce the cost of production substantially...Pearl MilletAgricultural ResearchChickpeaPigeonpeaGroundnutSorghum2015CGIAR and CAB InternationalBook Section